Neighborhood Team working to revive Saipan’s neglected areas

The Neighborhood Enhancement and Revitalization Team met last week for their first meeting to discuss ideas and efforts to help bring life back to some of Saipan’s neglected areas.

Saipan Municipal Council chair Antonia M. Tudela said that much attention and resources are pumped into the hotels, beaches, scenic vistas, ports of entry, tourists and related areas that tourists visit but not much to anywhere else.

“It is time for us to take a step back and apply the same energy and enthusiasm dedicating ourselves to improving the quality of life for the people living on this island, the island that we all call home,” Tudela said.

The Neighborhood and Revitalization Team is composed of members from various agencies such as the Division of Environmental Quality, Department of Public Works, Department of Public Safety, Saipan Mayor’s Office, Commonwealth Development Authority, Northern Marianas Housing Corp., Historic Preservation Unit, Commonwealth Development Authority, Marianas Visitors Authority, Coastal Resources Management, the JROTC, and the Saipan Municipal Council.

Tudela said the inner villages where the most of the island’s people live is the essence of the neighborhood revitalization and enhancement project.

In order to address the needs of the island’s inner villages, the team would need commitment and a sense of ownership.

“We do not anticipate much funding to be involved, as we have the collective resources at our disposal already—ourselves,” Tudela said.

The purpose of the initiative is to develop local capacity at the village level for residents to partake in the preservation and promotion of the historic assets of the community, to promote environmental stewardship, and enhance the physical and cultural characteristics of the villages.

“The goal is to build enough capacity at the village level for residents to be able to continue this project a part of the overall neighborhood revitalization and enhancement program,” Tudela said.

She added that the focus of the initiative is on the health and safety aspects of the villages, “in order to build and nurture a vibrant community for trade and commerce,” which in turn “provides local employment and other economic opportunities for the neighborhood.”

The group will meet again next week Tuesday morning at the office of the Saipan Municipal Council to plan and discuss ideas for the implementation of the project.

The team has made it clear that the first village they will tackle first is Chalan Kanoa as it is the capital of Saipan, a village rich in history, and the home of many of Saipan’s local residents.